A few years ago I spent my professional life in what I thought was a comfort zone. This consisted of dressing in the standard “business casual” attire, commuting to work; tethering my head to a VOIP console inside a cubicle and retreading the same path back home at the end of an unfulfilled day. The unpredicted “great recession” brought an end to that dream as the software start-up venture where I worked lost customers and forced them to lay off many of us. Having gone through a corporate downsizing some years before, I had had enough. I was ready for something new. The thought of becoming an entrepreneur had always been a dream and there was no better time than now to grasp it. I knew I wanted low start up cost, low overhead, a large customer base and I also wanted to work from home or where ever I happened to be connected at the time. After much research, interviewing, calculating and recalculating I decided on a home based affiliate consulting service. Because of online home based business, I make a bit of residual income from it. But, my testimony is not the focus of this writing. The focus is what I learned from my own experience and through other people’s lives that is: WORKING FROM HOME IS AWESOME! Working on an online home based business allows me to enjoy working in the comfort of my own home. I wouldn’t be bother getting another job just to earn extra income. This would certainly help anyone who wishes to pursue a much better life.Prior to the 1990′s the phrase “Work At Home Business” invoked images of writers and accountants with stacks of 5″ ¼ floppies and 3.5″ disks. Home based artisans and craftsmen built samples and scaled-down models to amaze the potential clients. These demos of products and services and many others were hand delivered or sent via “express mail.” Then along came the high-speed networks, the World Wide Web and email. The evolution of this technology during the first decade of this millennium to where we are now has redefined the “Work at Home” and “Home Based Business” paradigm. Wireless technology is even reshaping this model as we speak. A “Work Anywhere” empowerment is available to anyone suited for this type of work environment. Down-sizing by large corporations, on a global scale, are forcing a new “breed” of workforce. “Necessity is the mother of invention” and I think we are seeing this invention/evolution take place before our very eyes. I read just today on one of the leading job-search forums that “2012 will be the year of the Personal Brand.” We’re seeing individuals marketing their skills, their ideas and their experience as products themselves. Programmers, copywriters, project analyst, designers and thousands of others are on the working end of their connection, where ever that may be, collaborating with whoever may need them.Working an online home based business, I believe has become a viable alternative for so many people. Making money is a definitely certain goal that most people are keeping achieving for. The amounts vary from business to business, though. But saving money on work wardrobe, business lunches, commuting costs, and headaches are the basics that most describe as my reasons for choosing the alternative. Having personal satisfaction, more quality family relationships, and fulfilled dreams are truly the benefits I and you can get out of this.
How Does Your New Business Partner Start Their New Home Based Business?
A potential business partner decided to enter into a relationship with you in your home based business. The next step is training them to be successful in their new opportunity. When you came into this business you were just tossed into the deep end of the pool without any help. Your mentality is if it was good enough for me, then it is good enough for anyone I bring into business. This is definitely the incorrect way to look at building a long term home based business.The foundation of any sound home based business is made up of a consistent training program. The learning curve for any business varies from person to person. They are people who require hand holding through the initial process of developing their business. You also have business partners who do not require any hand holding. You must design your training to cover the person who is in the middle of the spectrum. If you have a business built on a foundation of not training your business partner, then your home based business will not grow. You must give your new business partners roots and wings.Roots denoted solid skills and values while having wings to aspire in their home based business. The first step is a solid training program that strengthened the foundation of your business. Many home based businesses take the money and run. False promises of how fantastic the training will be. Once the check clears no phone calls are returned, the partner is left in the cold alone. The business will only work for the short term, but will fall flat in the long term. The people who are in business for the long term will invest the time and money necessary to make their business partners better.The fact that the training you received when you started was not perfect. The same training principles need not be applied to your new business partners. I once worked for a restaurant chain that told me I was in charge of my own training. I was given some company material and left to learn the business on my own. The General Manager never sat down with me to go over any of the exercises. My foundation at this restaurant was unstable and inconsistent. The managers who came in after me went through the same process. You must have a consistent training program for your new partner. The first 30 to 60 days is the most critical time in teaching your business partner the keys to success. A proven training system is the best way to put people in charge of their destiny. A well trained business partner will lead to a more successful home based business.
How to Be a Top Commercial Property Manager Today
To be a top commercial real estate property manager you need to have solid market knowledge but you also need a comprehensive set of personal skills to match the needs of the property and the clients that you work for.
Many managers will graduate from ‘residential’ property, and move into ‘commercial’ property as part of growing and expanding their career. Whilst the idea is good, there are many factors and issues involved in changing property type. Commercial property is very different and much more complex than residential property; the knowledge base required of a person providing management services is far more extensive.
I do not want to scare you away from commercial property management as a career; but I do want you to respect the skills and knowledge that you will need in the role. The fee for managing a commercial property is substantial, but with that comes the requirement for personal skill and property control on the part of the manager and the agency.
In talking about this, I am not at this time specifically bringing into the discussion retail property. Retail shopping centre management is even more complex than commercial management. The fees in retail property are for this reason generally higher than that which applies to managing commercial property.
Here are some other main skills required of the property manager in performing their daily and weekly duties.
Negotiation skills will always feature as part of the job specification. Negotiations will be diverse across many different situations including property leasing, contracts and negotiations, maintenance contractor’s, tenants, solicitors, accountants, and landlords. The commercial property manager needs to have professional skills and suitable training when it comes to these diverse negotiation requirements.
Leasing situations will arise continually from the managed properties. The larger the portfolio, the more frequent the leasing requirement. In my opinion the property manager should be well skilled in leasing structures and or leasing negotiations. In this way they can help the landlords that they act for as part of selecting a new tenants for the managed investment property.
Lease documentation will vary greatly from property to property. This then says that the property manager needs to understand the differences in leases, how to bring them about, and how to interpret them. Rent reviews, rental structures, maintenance, option terms, refurbishment requirements, and tenant covenants are all unique situations that require specialist review with each and every lease in a managed portfolio. Critical dates will arise from every lease document as part of the management process. Many an inexperienced property manager has overlooked critical dates in the leases only to find that the landlords position has weakened considerably as a direct result.
Income and expenditure analysis will occur throughout the financial year for a managed property. The income needs to be optimized, and the expenditure needs to be suitably controlled. The difference between the two is the net income and that will have a direct impact on the value of the property for the landlord. It is the property managers duty to ensure that the best outcome is achieved given the prevailing market conditions.
Tenant communications should be well maintained throughout the year. When tenants are overlooked or ignored by the property manager, relationships soon sour, hence this exposes the property to unstable rental and or vacancy factors. Keep in contact with all tenants on a regular basis. Record all communications in writing so that the necessary evidence is available if any lease situation becomes the subject of a dispute.
Landlord reporting and controls will be unique to the particular landlord. Whilst most agencies have some form of income and expenditure controls and specific reporting processes, it is up to the property manager to interpret the reports and provide the necessary recommendations. Every monthly report produced for the managed property should be carefully checked as part of the month end process.
Maintenance controls will involve essential services and maintenance contractors. The age of the property will have some impact on the strategies behind repairs and maintenance. The complexity of the property and the tenancy mix will also have impact on the maintenance activity. Every lease should allow for the permitted use relating to the tenancy. Maintenance may be part of that process and certain maintenance costs may be applied to the tenant or the landlord depending on the particular lease situations. I go back to the point that each lease needs to be fully understood by the property manager.
Property performance is achieved through a fine balance of all of the above issues. That is why special skills and knowledge are part of the job specification for a commercial property manager.